Measuring and dispensing closure



Jan. 28, 1969 M. A. K. BLUMEN 3,424,355

MEASURING AND DISPENSING CLOSURE Filed Aug. 29, 1967 INVENTOR. YMARJORIE A.K.BLUMEN United States Patent 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A cap structure for containers adapted to dispense measuredamounts of the contents from the container. This device employs a fixedcup member which is inserted into the neck of the container. A rotatablecup member is fitted into the fixed cup. Both of the cups are providedwith openings in their bottoms and the rotatable cup is provided with aprojection which functions as a stop and which extends into the openingin the fixed cup bottom. The device is also provided with a cover or capwhich is threaded to the neck of the container and which is providedwith a projection frictionally engaging the inside of the rotatable cupso that when the cover is screwed onto the neck of the container, theclutch enters the rotatable cup and rotates this cup to bring theopening in the bottom thereof into alignment with the opening of thebottom of the fixed cup, whereby the rotatable cup may be filled withliquid or granular material from the container through the alignedopenings when the container is inverted. In order to capture thecontents in the rotatable cup, the cover is turned through less than onerevolution so that the opening in the rotatable cup is brought out ofalignment with the opening in the fixed cup. Thereafter, the containermay be turned right side up and the contents of the rotatable cupexposed upon removal of the cover from the container.

Description of the invention This invention relates to measuring anddispensing closures for containers of liquid or granular material.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved container closurefor measuring and dispensing the contents thereof which is economical tomanufacture and which is eflicient in operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved measuring anddispensing closure for product containers which is provided with arotatable cup member that is adapted to be filled with a portion of thecontents of the container when the container is inverted and whichportion of contents is adapted to be dispensed therefrom when thecontainer cover is removed.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved measuring anddispensing closure for a product container which comprises a fixed cuppositioned in the neck of the container and a rotatable cup positionedin the fixed cup, said cups having openings in the bottoms thereof whichare adapted to be aligned so that the rotatable cup may be filled with aportion of the contents of the container, said openings being adapted tobe closed after said rotatable cup is filled so that the contents of therotatable cup may be dispensed therefrom when the cover of the device isremoved.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art to which it relates from the following specification,claims and drawing, in which, briefly:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional View showing an embodiment of thiscontainer closure device;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view showing the parts of this device;

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FIG. 3 is a top view of this device with the cover thereof partiallybroken away to show the rotatable inner cup of the device with theopening in the bottom thereof aligned with the opening in the bottom ofa fixed cup positioned in the container neck; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the opening in the bottom ofthe rotatable cup out of alignment with the opening in the bottom of thefixed cup.

Referring to the drawing in detail, reference numeral 10 designates acontainer for liquid or granular material. This container may be in theshape of a bottle provided with a neck having threads 10a molded intothe exterior surface thereof. A cup 11 which may be of plastic or likematerial fits snugly into the neck of the container and is held thereinby friction. The cup 11 is provided with a flange 12 at the upper endthereof which overlaps the top of the bottle so that the cup 11 cannotbe pressed further into the bottle than the neck thereof. The cup 11 isprovided with an opening 12a in the bottom. This opening may be madeslightly larger than a semicircle, as shown, or it'may be madesubstantially smaller. Also, more than one opening of different shapesmay be employed, if desired.

A rotatable cup 13 is positioned in the fixed cup 11 and fits closelytherein. The rotatable cup 13 is provided with an opening 13a in thebottom thereof which is adapted to be aligned with the opening 12a ofthe fixed cup 11. The bottom of cup 13 is provided with a projection 15which is adapted to extend into the opening 12a of the cup 11 and engagethe sides thereof so it functions as a stop. Projection 15 thereforelimits the rotation of cup 13 with respect to cup 11. Cup 13 is alsomade of plastic or other semi-flexible material and is provided with aflange 14 which is adapted to be pressed into the groove 12b of the cup11 so that the rotatable cup 13 may not be readily removed from thefixed cup 11.

The cap 16 of this device is provided with an internal thread 1611 whichis adapted to engage the thread 10a of the container 10 when the cap 16is applied to the container to close the mouth thereof. Cap 16 isprovided with a circular clutch 17 on the inside thereof which isadapted to extend into the top of the rotatable cup 13 and frictionallyengage this cup when the cap is threaded to the top of the container.Thus, when the cap 16 is rotated clockwise and screwed onto thecontainer, as indicated by the arrows shown in FIG. 3, the clutch 17enters the rotatable cup 13 after the cap is positioned well on thecontainer. Clutch 17 then grips cup 13 and rotates it clockwise anamount determined by the projection 15 so that the opening 13a in thebottom of cup 13 is positioned over the opening 12a of cup 11. When cap16 is to be removed from the container, it is rotated counterclockwise,as shown by the arrows in FIG. 4. During the initial part of the capremoval clutch 17 also grips the inner surface of rotatable cup 13 andthis cup is rotated in the counterclockwise direction so that theopening 13a in the bottom thereof is brought out of alignment with theopening 12a of the fixed cup 11 and held there since the stop 15 engagesone of the sides of the opening 12a. When the cap 16 is positioned allthe way on the container the openings 13a and 12a of rotatable cup 13and fixed cup 11, respectively, are brought into alignment and thecavity in rotatable cup 13 may be filled with a portion of the contentsof the container 10 simply by inverting the container and allowing thecontents to flow into cup 13. At the same time, clutch 17 seals themouth of the cup 13 and prevents any of these contents from flowing pastthis cup and between the flange 12 and the cover 16. The cover 16 isthen rotated counterclockwise in the direction indicated by the arrowsin FIG. 4 while the container 10 is inverted so that rotatable cup 13 isrotated and the opening 13a thereof closed by the bottom of cup 11,whereby a portion of the contents of the container is captured inrotatable cup 13 and held therein when the container is turned rightside up. The cap 16 may then be removed all the way and the contents ofcup 13 emptied by tilting the container. The skirt of the cap 16 may bemade long enough so that the cap is big enough to receive the contentsof cup 13 in case the cap 16 is completely unscrewed from the containerwhile the container is inverted so that the contents of cup 13 will notbe spiled accidentally.

While I have shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will beapparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is capable ofvariation and modification from the form shown so that the scope thereofshould be limited only by the proper scope of the claims appendedhereto.

What I claim is:

1. In a measuring and dispensing closure for containers of liquid orgranular material, the combination comprising a fixed cup positioned inthe neck of the container and frictionally held therein to preventrotation thereof, said cup having an opening in the bottom thereof, arotatable cup positioned in said fixed cup, said rotatable cup alsohaving an opening in the bottom thereof which is adapted to be alignedwith the opening in said fixed cup, said rotatable cup having stop meanswhich determines the angle of rotation thereof, said stop means beingpositioned so that it limits the angle of rotation of said rotatable cupin one direction so that the openings in said cups are aligned, saidstop means also limits the angle of rotation of said rotatable cup inthe opposite direction so that the openings in said cups are out ofalignment and the bottoms of said cups are closed, a cap for saidcontainer, said cap having a clutch frictionally engaging said rotatablecup so that said rotatable cup may be rotated by rotating said capwhereby the opening in said rotatable cup may be aligned with theopening in said fixed cup when said cap is rotated in one direction andsaid openings may be brought out of alignment when said cap is rotatedin the opposite direction.

2. In a measuring and dispensing closure for containers of liquid orgranular material, the combination as set forth in claim 1 furthercharacterized in that said clutch comprises an annular member attachedto the inside of said cap and adapted to engage said rotatable cupfrictionally.

3. In a measuring and dispensing closure for containers of liquid orgranular material, the combination as set forth in claim 1 furthercharacterized in that said stop means extends into the opening in thebottom of said fixed cup and is adapted to engage the sides thereof tolimit the rotation of said rotatable cup with respect to said fixed cup.

4. In a measuring and dispensing closure for containers of liquid orgranular material, the combination as set forth in claim 1 furthercharacterized in that said fixed cup is provided with a flange at thetop thereof to limit the distance said fixed cup is inserted into theneck of said container.

5. In a measuring and dispensing closure for containers of liquid orgranular material, the combination as set forth in claim 1 furthercharacterized in that said rotatable cup is made of flexible materialand is provided with a flange on the outside thereof, said flange beingpressed into a recess on the inside of said fixed cup for retaining saidrotatable cup in said fixed cup.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,959,276 5/1934 Paardecamp222450 X 3,005,578 10/ 1961 Mairieri 222450 3,006,506 10/1961 Germano222450 X 3,214,068 10/1965 Armour 222-486 3,317,093 5/1967 Moran 222-485X 3,357,605 12/ 1967 Chadfield 222-485 ROBERT B. REEVES, PrimaryExaminer.

N. L. STACK, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

